Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Blow through the city on a double-decker bus, and take a pinch-me-I'm-in-London walk
through the West End. Ogle the crown jewels at the Tower of London, hear the chimes of
Big Ben, and see the Houses of Parliament in action. Cruise the Thames River, and take
a spin on the London Eye. Hobnob with the tombstones in Westminster Abbey, visit with
Leonardo, Botticelli, and Rembrandt in the National Gallery, and explore Harry Potter's
magical realm at the film studio in Leavesden. Enjoy Shakespeare in a replica of the Globe
Theatre and marvel at a glitzy, fun musical at a modern-day theater. Whisper across the
dome of St. Paul's Cathedral, then rummage through our civilization's attic at the British
Museum. And sip your tea with pinky raised and clotted cream dribbling down your scone.
You can enjoy some of Europe's best people-watching at Covent Garden, and snap
to at Buckingham Palace's Changing of the Guard. Just sit in Victoria Station, Piccadilly
Circus, or a major Tube station and observe. Tip a pint in a pub with a chatty local, and
beach-comb the Thames. Spend one evening at a theater and the other nights catching
your breath.
London is more than its museums and landmarks. It's the L.A., D.C., and N.Y.C. of
Britain—a living, breathing, thriving organism...a coral reef of humanity. The city has
changed dramatically in recent years, and many visitors are surprised to find how “un-
English” it is. ESL (English as a second language) seems like the city's first language,
as white people are now a minority in major parts of the city that once symbolized white
imperialism. Arabs have nearly bought out the area north of Hyde Park. Chinese takeouts
outnumber fish-and-chips shops. Eastern Europeans pull pints in British pubs. Many ho-
tels are run by people with foreign accents (who hire English chambermaids), while outly-
ing suburbs are home to huge communities of Indians and Pakistanis. London is a city of
eight million separate dreams, inhabiting a place that tolerates and encourages them. With
the English Channel Tunnel and discount airlines making travel between Britain and the
Continent easier than ever, London is learning—sometimes fitfully—to live as a micro-
cosm of its formerly vast empire.
